


A Fever

by neadevar



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, M/M, Zombie AU, Zombie Apocalypse, background mikasa/armin/eren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:06:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5590819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neadevar/pseuds/neadevar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts with a fever, and ends with a monster.<br/>Marco Bott considered himself lucky, with a loving mother and an adorable younger brother and grades that his friends would have killed for. Now he just considers himself lucky because he's alive. After a plague sweeps the world, leaving only a few survivors and turning the infected into zombies, Marco finds himself thrown into a world he'd only read about.<br/>Zombie's weren't supposed to be real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fever

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this is my last time reposting this. It was too boring before so I went back and made some changes. Please let me know what you think and leave kudos, I appreciate every comment I get. My tumblr is Neadevar if you want to stop by.

 

This all started with a fever. I never thought something like that would make everything spin out of control so fast. I didn’t think chaos was so close, so attainable. Things weren’t supposed to happen like  _ this.  _

But I was fortunate. 

I always considered myself lucky, and even now that has yet to change. My family may be gone and the world around me going to hell but I was alive and surviving, if just by pure chance. I refused to take that for granted. 

Eren would disagree. He’d tell me that the world was fucking us over, that we were in no way lucky to be alive. He’d cuss and punch the wall and cry because he believed we were cursed. He’s always been quick to anger. I couldn’t blame him. Some days I was  _ sure  _ he was right.

“Something’s wrong,” Armin mumbled, chewing on his thumb anxiously. “They just went to get supplies. They should have been back by now.”

I only frowned at that. He was right. It shouldn’t have taken Eren and Mikasa this long. They were strong though, especially together. I had no doubt they’d make it back safe. They might have run into a few problems along the way but there was no chance that Mikasa would let Eren get hurt, and vice versa. As worried as I was I was also hopeful.

“They’ll be fine,” I told Armin, reaching over to pull his thumb from his mouth. He’d start to bleed if I didn’t stop him now.  “You worry too much.”

“Someone has to,” he replied. “I’d be a bad boyfriend if I  _ didn’t  _ worry about them.”

_ Everything’s okay, everything’s okay, everything’s okay.  _ I repeated those words in my head trying to keep myself upbeat. I couldn’t let Armin see me worried. It would only make him feel worse.

“Something’s wrong,” Armin whispered. “Something’s  _ wrong. _ ”

I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes as if that would block out Armin’s words. I reached over to him and grabbed his hand and he clung to it like it was his last shred of hope. 

They didn’t come back that night. Armin didn’t stop crying.

  
  
  


They called it Virus Z, which is really just a more dramatic way of saying that people were turning into zombies and scientists couldn’t figure out why. They pretended on the news that they were close to a cure. Every day for three months they said it. When people passed in the hospitals they would shoot them through the head to prevent any incidents. They kept what happened after death hidden to prevent widespread panic. It became impossible to hide after a while. That was when everything really went to hell.

The disease was violent. I watched it all on the news as they covered the outbreak but it was nothing like going through it with my younger brother. They’re never dead, not completely. They’re brains are just destroyed leaving only hunger receptors and basic motor skills functioning, only the receptors are working beyond what they’re supposed to and craving iron in vast amounts. Human flesh, animals, anything that might curb that hunger becomes the sole goal. They’re not brainless, but they’re not intelligent. They can hear and smell as long as their body holds up. While their cells might deteriorate, their brains remain unscatched and controlling a body that was rotting and failing. It takes a while for their bodies to fail completely, for the heart to not be whole enough to pump enough oxygen and blood to the brain, and only then are they completely dead. Shooting them only does so much damage, and it takes so long for it to work. You can shoot for the heart and hope you damage it enough for kill it, but that could take hours. Your best chance at survival is to go for the brain. That’s the only way to kill them instantly.

We had found this place last night, completely boarded up with only a few zombies inside. Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and I had made short work of them and disposed of the bodies quickly. We had the whole house to ourselves after that. Granted the sofa had to go as it smelled of rotting guts but the rocking chair in the corner was nice. The stove was a gas stove which made warming up water and food so much easier. 

Eren and Mikasa had gone to get food as a quick look through the cupboards and pantry led to absolutely nothing, which wasn’t really a surprise. Most people packed up as much food as they could before they left. 

Armin sat by the door refusing to move. I dug through the last remains of our food and tried to hand him a chocolate bar but he refused. Hollowed out eyes just stared into the wall. He was trying to be hopeful. He was trying to believe that they had made it and would come back anytime now.

I was trying hard too. I had too. The moment you stopped hoping was the moment you really lost. 

It wasn’t until a few hours later that we heard knocks on the door, a familiar pattern to make sure we didn’t let in anyone or anything we didn’t want. I watched Armin’s eyes widen as he scrambled to his feet. His shaky fingers fumbled with the locks. His lower lip trembled when he couldn’t grasp the rusted lock enough to turn it. 

I walked up beside him and pulled his hand away, unlocking the door myself. Relief swept through me when both Eren and Mikasa stumbled in. Armin had flung himself at them almost immediately, wrapping his arms around the two of them and shaking with sobs. Eren and Mikasa didn’t say anything about it. They just wrapped their arms around him and held him tight.

“What took you guys so long?” I asked, relieved. 

“Ran into a hoard,” Eren told me. He kissed the top of Armin’s head before continuing. “We had to hide in a dumpster so they couldn’t smell us.”

“That’s why you stink,” Armin mumbled from where he had buried his head into Mikasa’s scarf.

I scrunched up my nose, the smell finally hitting me. “I’ll start up the stove. I can heat up some water so you guys can kind of wash off.”

“That would be great,” Mikasa said softly. She was running her fingers through Armin’s hair. Neither of them chided him for being so relieved to see them. Every time someone left any safe spot we had found they might not ever come back. We lost Hitch and Marlow that way. 

Eren managed to pry himself away from Armin and followed me as I went into the kitchen. The house still had running water and we were all thankful for that. I filled up a pot and set it on the stove, grabbing a match from the table and lighting it as soon as the gas started going. We ended up really lucky here. Not every house or spot to hide out was as nice as this. Granted there were mice in the attic and mold in the grout but we were still happy. It was a place to try to rest, and god knows we need that.

“We managed to find some canned food,” Eren told me as he unloaded his backpack. “Some chicken noodle soup, potatoes, and carrots. I figured tonight we could all split the soup. I haven’t had anything with salt in so long.”

I chuckled at that, keeping an eye on the water to make sure it wouldn’t boil. I wanted them clean, not burnt. 

“Mikasa managed to snag some other cans,” Eren continued. “But I’m not sure all of what she got.”

“Some canned peas, more chicken noodle soup, and some beef stew,” Mikasa said, pulling Armin along by the hand behind her. “It’s enough to keep us going for a while, but this place is pretty dry. We might have to move on soon.”

I frowned at that. I really didn’t want to leave the gas stove. No electricity was really a bitch and something as simple as this made the world a little brighter and easier.

Armin warmed up dinner for us that night, and we all sat at the table in the dark eating quietly. We didn’t want to light a candle, too afraid of attracting the attention of anyone who might be a threat. Zombies weren’t the only problem. People become monsters themselves when the world goes to hell. Morals fly out the window quickly when the world is ending.

Three of us slept in the same bed at a time that night, pressing together tightly to conserve warmth. It was autumn now and the air at night got insanely cold. The person who was out was on watch, keeping a lookout for a few hours before they switched with someone else. 

Morning came with a snow storm. It howled through the cracks in the boarded windows and through the couple of holes in the ceiling. There was no way we would all be able to stay warm, even underneath the covers. So Eren and I got up, leaving Mikasa and Armin to huddle together underneath the sheets, as we looked through the house for wood to burn in the fireplace.

“T-this is such b-bullshit,” Eren stuttered, grunting as he dug through the attic. I grabbed a wood plank and carefully lowered it down the attic door as far as I could so it wouldn’t make as much noise as it hit the ground. I didn’t want to spook Armin or Mikasa. 

“It could b-be worse,” I told him. “I mean I can’t feel my face but I h-haven’t lost my nose yet.”

Eren snorted at that, rolling his eyes at me. “Your optimism is a-almost threatening.”

“Scared I’ll make you feel better?”

He laughed, throwing his head back. “A-as if anything could make me feel better about all of this. Thanks for trying, M-Marco, but your efforts are better put to use elsewhere.”

He picked up an old and dusty fur coat staring at it carefully. It was clear the bugs and rats had gotten to it as it had multiple holes through it. He sniffed at it wearily and recoiled like it has slapped him in the face. “ _ Fuuuuck _ .”

“Bad?” I asked.

“Awful. Smell’s l-like something died i-in it.”

I grinned and bent back down to grab an old, splintered wooden chair. “Something p-probably did.”

Eren came over to help me break apart the chair and toss the pieces down. We made quick work of it and after rifling through the rest of the junk decided there was nothing we could use or burn. The both of us climbed back down the ladder and started to put the wood we had found into emptied boxes to haul it back into the living room. It took a couple matches to catch one of the boxes we had torn up on fire but as soon as it did we started to place wood on top of it. The small amount of warmth made a huge difference. Eren left to get Armin and Mikasa as I kept on coaxing the fire. I placed my hands and toes in front of it when it was safe to leave it be trying to try and defrost them. 

“We don’t have much wood,” Eren was saying as they all sat beside me, huddling close to the fire for warmth. “S-so we’re going to have to take the car and try to find m-more wood tomorrow.”

“I’ll go,” I said. “You and Mikasa went o-out last time.”

“Me too,” Armin spoke up. 

“Armin-,” Mikasa began. 

“He’s the best shooter out of all of us,” Eren interrupted her. “He’ll be fine.”

She looked at him for a moment before turning her head away. 

“Lets not worry about that now, please,” I said. “I’d like to unfreeze my toes first.”

We ran out of wood halfway through the night, but even then it wasn’t the worst night I had ever had.

  
  
  


The storm let up enough in the morning for us to be able to actually see past our noses. The snow was still falling but none of us could handle not having a fire for very much longer. Mikasa ended up winning the argument last night. Armin had injured his hip a few weeks ago and he still had trouble walking for very long. Eren ended up going in his place. The both of us pulled on extra clothes we had found in the house to try to keep out the chill before we went out.

“Shit,” Eren muttered as he closed the front door behind us. “It’s cold.”

I finished loading my gun. “The faster we get into the car the faster we can get wood and the faster we can get warm.”

Eren drove slowly, keeping a sharp eye out for anything or anyone. I kept my gun raised ready to shoot if need be. If a person let their guard down for even a single moment it could be the death of them. A shotgun would attract zombies from miles around but from the car it was more practical. Its easier to escape a hoard of zombies when you have a nice metal cage to keep them out. When we got out the gun would have to go. 

Eren stopped at the next house, maybe an acre or so away from the one we were crashing at, and cut off the engine. As nice as it would have been to keep it running and let it heat up the chances of someone coming by and stealing it were high enough that neither of us wanted to risk it. We didn’t know who all was in the neighborhood, if there were any people left at all. 

We walked up to the front door, both of us with knives out. I kept a lookout as Eren tried the handle. 

“Locked,” He muttered. “Mikasa and I stopped by here yesterday but she wouldn’t let me bust it open. Give me a minute.”

I turned a little to watch from the corner of my eye as he took the worn down scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around his hand a couple times. I grimaced and looked away. Breaking the window might be more practical to get into the house but Eren’s fucked that up enough times before. Mikasa’s had to pick so much glass out of his hand over this past year.

The sound of glass shattering had me flinching. Eren didn’t start cussing though so I assumed there wasn’t any problems. 

“Alright,” Eren said. “Let’s go in.”   
He reached his hand through the shattered glass and fiddled with the door handle on the inside. After a small click the door opened. Eren grinned up at me.

“Ta da!” He said cheerily. 

“No battle wounds?” I asked.

He frowned and inspected his hand carefully. “Um, nope. I think we’re good. Let’s go find some wood.”

I stayed on lookout, though it wasn’t really necessary. The house was empty aside from us. Eren filled his arms with as much things we could burn as possible before running out to the car. After a couple trips to and from we finally decided that there wasn’t much else we could take. 

The next house took us 10 minutes just to drive to, and it wasn’t as lucky as the last. While the front door was unlocked Eren has only taken two steps into it before something jumped on him, growling and screeching.

“Fuck!” Eren shrieked.

Panic gripped me, rendering me unable to move. It never mattered how often we’d come across them, how many we’ve killed, the fear never went away. I watched Eren wrestle with it. His fingers dug into the rotting flesh on the zombie’s face tearing it to shreds like it was nothing. I staggered back and my grip on my knife tightened.

_ You have to help him. _

I shook away my shock and took a step forward, knife raised. As I made a move to shove the blade into the back of its skull Eren shoved it off of him with a grunt. I jumped back and barely had time to dodge as the zombie rounded on me. I fought down the panicked need to flee. Every single part of me wanted to turn tail and run. It swiped at me with a rotting hand, scratching me in the face and making me stumble back. I saw Eren scramble for the knife he had dropped. As the zombie grabbed  for me again I knocked it back, the arm ripping from the shoulder and landing on the floor with a sickly thump. My stomach lurched at the sound. 

Despite losing an arm it didn’t even slow it down. As it reached for me with its good arm I grabbed a hold of it, yanking it close enough for me to shove my knife into its eye and to its brain. His mouth clacked shut once, twice, and then it went limp. I let go and let it drop to the floor before falling down beside it. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath.

“Shit,” Eren cursed. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before looking at me. “That scared the piss out of me.”

I ran a shaky hand, the one not currently covered in blood, through my hair. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You’re not though.”

I touched the scratched on my cheek gently, wincing when i felt how wet it was. Eren clambered over me and grabbed my face in his hand, gently poking at them with his other.

He grimaced. “You’re going to need stitches. Hold on, I’m going to look for something you can press over that.”

I nodded and leaned heavily on the door. It wasn’t a bite and for that alone I was immensely grateful. Even so though things were even more deadly. I could feel blood dripping down my neck and into my shirt. If a zombie caught my scent I’d be done for. They’d be on us before we had a chance to scream. 

“He shouldn’t have been here,” Eren said, shaking his head. He pressed a wet washrag against my face and began cleaning it. “Mikasa and I came here on our food run and he wasn’t here. I don’t understand where he came from.”

“If there’s an open back door he might have been following your scent.” I mumbled, trying not to move my mouth to much as Eren kept wiping at me. 

“You’re making me paranoid.”

“Sorry.”

He finished up and pressed a dry cloth to my face. I took my hand and replaced his and he back away, looking around. “I’ll grab some more wood and haul it out. You stay here. As soon as I get everything I can out of here we’re heading back.”

I nodded at that. 

I watched as he went to and from the car, his eyes darting everywhere with anxiety. With every minute that passed there was more and more chance of a zombie catching the scent of my blood and coming right for us. For all we knew there could be a hoard heading towards us right now. I chewed at my lip nervously and watched Eren come down the stairs with more wood pieces to burn.

“This is it,” He said. “We should go. Keep an eye out, please.”

I nodded and stood up, following him out the door. The way back to the car was short but even still it seemed tremendously longer than before. My hands were shaking as I opened the car door and climbed inside. Eren shoved the wood haphazardly into the back seat, the trunk being far too full to fit much else in, before climbing in the driver’s seat. 

Eren heaved a sigh and finally relaxed. He started up the car and looked at me with a smile. “Ready to go?”

I nodded, just wanting to get my head fixed and to lay down for a while. 

As we drove the snow storm just got worse and worse, forcing us to slow down. What should have only taken us fifteen minutes at most was now going to take at least half an hour. We were barely creeping along, having a hard time even seeing five feet in front of us.

“I hope we didn’t pass the house already,” Eren mumbled. 

“We might have to cut the engine and wait it out,” I told him.

I looked out the window and my eyes widened. “Eren, shut off the car.”

He did so without any questions, leaning over towards me to look out my window. “What do you see?”

A figure stumbled in the snow, barely a shadow in the storm. Eren and I held our breath waiting for it to move away. Only it didn’t. It slumped to the ground and didn’t move.

I moved to open the door but Eren’s hand grabbed my arm, “Marco, don’t. You’re covered in blood. Leave them.”

I looked at him for a moment before shaking my head. Whoever was out there was hurt. They needed help. I couldn’t just turn my head and pretend I didn’t even see them. “I can’t. If you don’t want to help you don’t have to. I’ll be right back.”

Eren pursed his lips before letting go of my arm and opening his own door. I opened mine and cold air hit me hard in the face. I clenched my teeth against it. I fought against the wind, my arm over my face to try and shield me. The snow was up past my ankles at this point. Eren walked along beside me. We approached the figure carefully not entirely sure if it was still human or not. 

“Shit,” Eren muttered, barely heard over the roar of the storm.

It was human. Well,  _ he  _ was human. And almost dead. 


End file.
